Californians for Economic Security (CFES)

History
The Insight Center was one of four leaders that, in 1997, launched the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project: an innovative, nation-wide effort to gain support for proven practices to help working families reach economic security. The Insight Center leads the California arm of this effort, Californians for Economic Security (CFES). With the recent release of the Elder Economic Security Initiative™, we have expanded the impact of this work to help retired older adults age with dignity and economic well-being. 

Mission
Today, CFES is a broad-based coalition comprised of legislators, advocates, direct service providers and foundations who support policies that build economic security for families, elders, and the communities in which they live. We define economic security as having enough money to cover the basics like rent, food, child care, health care, transportation, and taxes, and enough money to develop savings and assets. Savings and assets are what allow people to weather the inevitable economic ups and downs of life, and to build a more stable future. CFES advocates that policymakers use more realistic measures of what it takes to make ends meet as they develop policies and allocate limited resources.

Structure
CFES houses two programs: 

• Family Economic Security Initiative, which focuses on supporting working families; and
• Elder Economic Security Initiative, which focuses on helping retired adults age with dignity and economic well-being. 
  

CFES is connected to a national movement, organized by Washington, D.C.-based Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), in conjunction with 35 other state lead partners around the country.

Strategies

• Organize statewide education and mobilization campaigns
• Advocate to transform the way we measure and combat poverty in America
• Educate policymakers about proven practices to support working families and retired elders as they strive for economic independence

Tools to Accurately Measure Economic Security
Legislators struggle to create effective policies to promote economic security because they do not have an accurate picture of the income needed to make ends meet in today’s economy. In this country we typically measure poverty using the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is an outdated, imprecise metric developed in the 1960s that vastly understates the number of people struggling to make ends meet. The methodological shortcomings of the FPL are numerous and include the fact that it does not vary by geography – the poverty thresholds are the same whether you live in Topeka, Kansas or San Francisco, CA. The FPL is based solely on the cost of the basic food budget needed to meet minimum nutritional requirements. The FPL assumes that food accounts for one-third of a household’s overall expenses; a fixed ratio that does not allow for some costs, such as housing, to rise faster than food. As a result of these and other shortcomings, the 2008 federal poverty level for an individual is just $10,400, a fraction of the amount people really need to get by.

In contrast, the California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (Self-Sufficiency Standard) includes all of the basic costs working families in California face:  housing, child care, transportation, health care, food, applicable taxes and tax credits and other miscellaneous expenses. The Family Standard provides a basic needs budget for 156 family types in each of California’s 58 counties.

The recently released California Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index measures how much it costs retired, older adults (age 65+), to live in each county of California. It includes housing, medical expenses, food, transportation and other basic needs; and it varies by housing and medical circumstances.

We promote the use and formal adoption of these more realistic standards of living in crafting public policies, grant making and direct services.

Self-Sufficiency Calculator                                                               
Designed exclusively for counselors, the Self-Sufficiency Calculator (Calculator) allows users to track progress toward economic security while helping them access public and private supports. The Calculator identifies eligibility for 14 different California state and federal public benefits and tax credits, and explains how to apply for the benefits, including contact information for public and nonprofit support agencies. Currently, the calculator is used by organizations in the Bay Area and in Sacramento, San Bernardino, Mendocino, Orange, and Riverside Counties. For more information about your county’s Self-Sufficiency Calculator, or if you would like a calculator in your county, contact the Insight Center at CFES@insightcced.org.

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